“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.” ~Ingrid Bergman

Well Hello, old friend…
No excuses. No apologies. I’ve been enjoying my life immensely …that is all. I’ve even been pondering the idea of taking a hiatus from blogging altogether. But alas, I’m back once again to pour my words out onto your pages. To discuss joyous occasions and laugh at oddities, to own up to my awkward moments and dissect my silly quirks. All out in the open for scrutiny in the public eye. Why on Earth would I be so transparent, you ask? Why don’t I password protect my life? That is a damn good question, actually. The only answer I have is… That’s not me. I don’t hide. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and sure, it might bring some hurt feelings into my day occasionally. But it feels much more authentic to be true and broadcast good stuff that might inspire people, or awkward moments that people can relate to, than to stay private and closed off. And believe me, friends, the truly juicy stuff in my life doesn’t go on a WordPress Blog, it stays in my heart and the heart of my loved one, all tucked away neatly and safely for our eyes only.

But there is so much more to talk about. Life brings us daily gifts in a myriad of ways. Getting that extra half hour of sleep & snuggle time in the morning; a hand written letter from a dear friend in your mailbox; when a new recipe comes out delicious the first time; discovering new music; cozying up with a great book on one side of the couch while your loved one is reading on the other side of the couch, under the same blanket… I could go on forever! And these are things that are worth talking about, and sharing. It’s the little things in life that bring us so much joy, IF we are able to recognize them. So sure, I might rant and rave about something awful and annoying from time to time, but those are the times that we can laugh at, ultimately. And in fact, by writing about those times I am making myself laugh at them, and it becomes a non-issue.

So there. I am back, and I am grateful for my blog, and my readers. I’m grateful for my family and friends who allow me to process my life openly and passionately with no judgement. And I am grateful to the very few of those out there who insist on judging and being party-poopers. You only make me stronger.

So with all of that being said… Let’s start again.

Well, Hello old friend! What a wonderful month it has been. I don’t even know where I left off, but I think since the last time I was here I went to Mexico, had a crazy 80’s-themed surprise birthday, saw Prince in concert from about ten feet away, went to see the beautiful Chris Cornell solo acoustic concert at Humphry’s, wrote another chapter of my book, led an Ayurveda workshop, and had a blast with Kaleo in between it all. I know I’m missing a ton of stuff, but I just don’t feel like recapping right now. What I do want to say is that I finally saw the Oprah show. Yes, for the first time ever. I think I must have seen it in passing here and there, I mean it has been 25 years since she’s been on-air! But I never really sat down to watch an episode. Not until last week, when I was feeling a little under the weather and decided to stay home in my jammies and drink tea on the couch. And watch Oprah. ???
Anyway, I will spare you the sappy details, but I was in tears! She was so awesome, and inspirational! I don’t know if all her shows are like that, but I was moved. Then I realized it was her very. last. show. Like, ever. I had no idea it was even ending. It’s never even been on my radar, whatsoever, so I never paid her any attention. But damn, that girl can make a grown woman cry. Where am I going with this? Well apparently she has something on her show called My Favorite Things. Awesome idea! So I would like to share with you some of mine. However, the last thing I want is to be sued by a woman who can make me cry, so I am going to call it:

Things I am Loving Right Now

{Tuberose Essential Oil}

Sorry for the bad shot. But this stuff is deeelicious. My mom gave me 4 bottles for my birthday! I wear a smidge on each wrist everyday and it brings me right back home to Hawaii. I just placed an order to sell them in my boutique.

{Daniel}

Kaleo and I are huge supporters of Farm Sanctuary. When our beloved pig, Bella, passed away a year and a half ago, we decided against getting another pet. Instead, we became supporters of this organization and a personal sponsor of a beautiful piglet named Blossom. They have two shelters, one in Northern California and the other in New York. Please visit their website and see what they are all about. For my surprise party, Kaleo created a large donation jar with literature and a whole display for my party guests to donate in lieu of a traditional birthday gift. How incredibly sweet is he???

{Breville Juice Extractor}

The Breville Juice Extractor is our new best friend. We juice everyday, and the cleanup isn’t even too terrible with this one. My favorite mixtures lately are Carrot-Ginger and Apple-Beet. Juicing is so deliciously good for your heart, your skin, your liver, your blood… The benefits are limitless! If you want to read about juicing, I found this great resource: The Juicing Book online. As for the juicer we purchased, we found Breville to be the best for what we were looking for. Easy cleanup, durable, industrial parts, and the extractor feature is a must.

{Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me}

Okay, I admit it, this book is hilarious. I read so many serious, not-so-easy to read texts that every once in a while it’s a lot of fun to read something like this, or the True Blood series. And I happen to Love Chelsea. This book is written by her friends, family, and co-workers, spilling the beans on all of the mean pranks and lies that Chelsea pulls on them. It’s pretty funny, and yes, her other books are funny too. Good summer beach read.

{Topless & Barefoot}

I love nail polish by Essie. It is reasonably priced and the colors are so soft and romantic. This pale natural pinkish gem is my new fave, I have it on my toes right now. Another polish I love when I want to go for a bit more pizazz is Butter London which uses No Formaldehyde, and come in whimsical colors with names like Tea With the Queen, Tramp Stamp, and The Full Monty. Love!

Well, it’s nice to be back. It was also nice to take a break. Stepping back and re-evaluating things is a necessary step in growth sometimes. We can use it as a tool to see if what we want out of life and what we are doing in life are in alignment. Now on to the important stuff… What is everyone doing for the Summer??

~HugsMelanie

PS: Thanks to Anonymous for the compliment, but to give credit where credit is due… My inspiration for titling all my posts with quotes comes from one of the blogs I love, Smart, Pretty and Awkward.

12 thoughts on ““A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.” ~Ingrid Bergman”

Have I told you lately that I love you. If not- I love you.. And the papa too. I am so so so sad to of been in NYC and to of missed Chris. 😦 I will plan my travel around it next time fo sho. U me = NYC soon. 😉 xoxoxo

After a blissful morning sitting by the pool with my coffee, I’m at your mom’s computer reading your latest blog entry and I wanted to do two things. Thing 1 is to tell you how much I love reading your blog. Della sent me the link a year ago and I love checking in once and a while to read about the fabulously authentic life you are leading, and Thing 2 is to say I’ve had so much fun spending time with your mom these last days of my visit….I love love LOVE her!!

Hawaii is definitely the place that feels most like home to me and my plan for when I stop working is to come back to this island and live again. I don’t have a specific plan in place but it’s something I’ll be developing over the next couple of years. Keep on doing what you’re doing….you definitely take the aloha spirit with you wherever you go and I’m happy to know that you have found a way to navigate this crazy journey of life with such grace and love.

Hello,
I was wondering if you can give me the brand name of the Tuberose oil posted? I’ve looked on line, but the packaging is no where as pretty, I want something to sit on my vanity and look as well as smell nice. Also, love the shot of the trees, what lens did you use? Thanks in advance 🙂

Hi Andrea,
The company is called Aloha Therapy and you can find her here.
As for the photo of the trees? I took that in Costa Rica with my iPhone!! Crazy, huh? I forgot my Cannon (which Kaleo still does not let me forget…) so every photo taken on that trip was with my iPhone 4.
Melanie

Hi Simi! You are an inspiration as well! I am loving the countdown to your departure, and I am eagerly awaiting hearing your stories from abroad. Let me know if your travels ever bring back down my way again.

You are so dang darling!! You have a beautiful, yet raw kind of way with words………… the world wouldn’t be as special -AND- mean so much, if it weren’t for your generosity in sharing what’s going on inside of that pretty little mind of yours! 🙂

I wanted to take this time to thank you for being so generous to everyone and everything around us! You truly ARE an inspiration to whom ever cares to stop, listen, and smell the flowers as you do…….. I’m excited to start reading more of your posts……… as I only found out about this website a couple days ago, when I saw Kaleo in Ventura…… I only spoke to him for a few moments, however, I had been thinking about you over the years, and I actually tried to find you over the internet somehow a few times. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful, but now I am so glad I decided to go to Warped Tour with this lady that invited me. I was a little ticked off after learning what this girl I was with asked Kaleo, when she was trying to get a picture with him. (I told her not to, but she did anyway, and I got really protective of the both of you on her. It was just straight up rude!!) But I did come out of it with an unlimited amounts of wonderous experiences that’s waiting for me in every word that I read from you! I can’t wait to enjoy, laugh, cry and definitely learn from your many inventions you write………. thanks for making a girl FEEL!

Hey Jamie! Wow it’s been a long time! Thanks so much for your sweet words. Don’t worry about your friend, the guys hear allll kinds of crazy things, so I’m sure he wasn’t even phased. Yeah, our little piggie isn’t with us anymore, but she will forever be in our hearts.